Chapter 4

Valerie 

I couldn't process it. My entire reality had been ripped apart and rewritten in the span of a few short hours.

I was being paraded through the pack house hallways like a lamb to the slaughter, my wrists trembling as two towering Lycan guards escorted me. But the fear wasn't what was choking me. It was the absolute, soul-crushing betrayal.

Dante hadn't even blinked.

He didn't even try to fight for me. We had been together for years, shared a life, shared a bed, and the moment a monster demanded me, Dante had tossed me over like a piece of garbage. He didn't even want to hear what I had to say. He didn't hesitate. He was just relieved to be rid of his useless ex-mate.

"Take her to the infirmary," Dimitri said, signalling to the guard.

"Tell the pack healer to have her cleaned up and ready for the process."

The process? My stomach dropped to the floor. What process?

The guards shoved me through the doors of the pack infirmary. The smell of antiseptic and bitter wolfsbane hit my nose.

The pack healer, a bitter older female wolf who looked at me with disdain, crossed her arms as the guards relayed the King’s message.

I swallowed hard, trying to keep my voice steady. "Please, do you know what he means by—"

"Shut your mouth," the healer snapped, her eyes flashing with utter contempt. She grabbed my arm roughly, yanking me toward the bathing chambers. "I don't take orders or answer questions from a stripped Luna."

"I just want to know what's going to happen to me," I pleaded, wincing as her claws dug into my skin.

"What happens to all trash," a younger nurse sneered from the corner, tossing a coarse towel onto a nearby bench. "You get used and discarded. Good luck surviving a Lycan King when you couldn't even handle a regular Alpha."

Another wolf snickered, leaning against the counter. "Exactly. She's a barren reject. Dante didn't want her, and once the King realizes she's nothing but a broken, useless vessel, he'll toss her to the rogues."

"Can't even give her own mate an heir," the healer muttered, practically throwing me into the cold, sterile bathing room. "Scrub yourself clean. Don't keep the King waiting. It's bad enough we have to breathe the same air as a disgrace like you."

They left me alone in the freezing room. Tears pricked my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. I numbly did as I was told, my mind racing with a million thoughts. I was stripped of my title, discarded by my mate, and now handed over to the most ruthless Lycan in the world.

When I finally stepped out, dressed in a thin white robe they had left for me, the door to the King's temporary quarters loomed ahead.

"The King will see you now."

The guard outside announced.

He pushed the door open.

 Dimitri was standing by the window, staring out at the moonlit grounds. He had discarded his jacket, his crisp black shirt unbuttoned at the collar, revealing the muscular lines of his throat.

He slowly turned to face me. The sheer, predatory dominance radiating from him made my knees buckle slightly.

I had to fix this. I couldn't be his breeder. 

"I'm sorry," I blurted out, my voice shaking as I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to hold my fracturing courage together.

Dimitri tilted his head, his dark eyes locking onto mine.

 "Sorry for what, exactly?"

"For last night," I breathed, taking a tiny, desperate step backward. "What happened between us... it was a very huge mistake on my part. I was vulnerable, and I didn't know who you were. You should have stopped me."

Dimitri let out a dark chuckle. He began stalking toward me.

"A mistake?" he murmured, stopping mere inches from my trembling body. He reached out, his large, hot hand tracing the side of my neck. "lOh no, sweetheart."

I gasped as his thumb brushed over my racing pulse.

"It seems my curse connects with you," Dimitri continued, his voice dropping into a rough, hypnotic whisper. "For years, I've been searching for someone whose body wouldn't shatter under my touch. You're going to be the cure for my curse. And you will stay with me until it is completely gone. Only then can I be free and live a normal life."

"I don't understand," I whispered.

"You see, last night you were able to cure my curse," he stated softly, his gaze dropping to my lips. "When the Blood-frenzy takes me, my blood boils. My mind goes feral. The pain is so excruciating that the only release is violence. I tear apart anything and anyone in my path."

He stepped closer, his chest brushing against mine. The heat radiating off him was utterly consuming.

"But last night," he breathed, leaning down until his lips hovered just a fraction of an inch from mine, "when the frenzy was dragging me under... you touched me. Your scent wrapped around my mind. Your body grounded the feral beast. You neutralized the madness, Valerie. You calmed the curse."

I stared up at him in shock. I had cured the Lycan King's feral state? The state that had slaughtered hundreds of warriors?

"So," he whispered, his eyes darkening with a raw, primal lust that made my breath hitch. "Because you survived me when no other wolf ever has... you should be able to carry my heirs."

My eyes went wide. "No wolf has ever survived the process?"

"None," he answered bluntly, trailing a burning line of kisses down my jawline. "Their bodies break. But you didn't break. You calmed the storm."

He pulled back just enough to look into my panicked, wide eyes.

"But first," Dimitri growled, his voice suddenly shifting into something ancient and terrifyingly possessive. "I think I need to do this."

His hands gripped my hips, pulling me flush against his hard, muscled body. He tilted my head to the side, exposing the sensitive crook of my neck.

My breath caught in my throat. "Wait, what are you—"

He didn't hesitate. His sharp canines pierced the delicate skin of my mating gland.

A sharp, agonizingly sweet pain exploded through my veins. I let out a loud gasp, my fingers digging desperately into his broad shoulders as the Lycan King's mark crashed into my bloodstream, claiming me entirely. The bond sparked to life, a wild, consuming fire that seared away the fading traces of Dante and replaced them with Dimitri's intoxicating darkness.

He slowly pulled back, his lips stained with a single drop of my blood, a wicked, breathtaking smirk playing on his lips.

"Now," Dimitri whispered, his dark eyes completely dilated with desire as he swept me up into his  powerful arms. "Let's get to the main business.”